There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Many plant-associated microbes are pathogens that impair plant growth and reproduction.
Plants respond to infection using a two-branched innate immune system. The first branch
recognizes and responds to molecules common to many classes of microbes, including
non-pathogens. The second responds to pathogen virulence factors, either directly
or through their effects on host targets. These plant immune systems, and the pathogen
molecules to which they respond, provide extraordinary insights into molecular recognition,
cell biology and evolution across biological kingdoms. A detailed understanding of
plant immune function will underpin crop improvement for food, fibre and biofuels
production.